Educating Charlie
by OnAWhim28
Summary: Charlie was comforted in his belief that sending his coworker's research to Pakistan was the right thing for humanity, but what Charlie didn't contemplate was one of the professors he sent the research to having less than savory ties. When Charlie comes face to face with the unintended consequences of his actions, he struggles with how to move forward.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Charlie was comforted in his belief that sending his coworker's research to Pakistan was the right thing for humanity, but what Charlie didn't contemplate was one of the professors he sent the research to having less than savory ties. When Charlie comes face to face with the unintended consequences of his actions, he struggles with how to move forward. Told mainly from Don's perspective.

A/N: So this is my first fanfiction- please be gentle. I always thought that Charlie got off too easy when the whole "When Worlds Collide" episode and story arch started. Things could have easily gone very wrong and this is "that" story. The show has always teased with the theme of Charlie's innocence and naivety vs. his brother's world, and this story tries to play that out a bit. Told mainly from Don's point of view

Disclaimer: The usual disclaimers apply. I don't own anything from Numb3rs and I'm not making any money from this.

Warning: No beta, but I did my best! Mostly language

* * *

Don was relived, more so than he cared to admit. It seemed that Charlie's recent brush with law… hell Don thought, more like Charlie's recent blatant disregard for the law… had been resolved. It had been a brutal week, all starting with his kid brother surrendering to authorities for sending unauthorized information to professors in Pakistan. Don shook his head as he collapsed onto his California King, too tired to move. And they called him the stubborn one he thought. Charlie has been so confident that what he was doing was the right thing that he put his entire career in jeopardy. What aggravated Don even more was that Charlie didn't seem to realize what his actions could mean for Don's job. Instead, Charlie did what Charlie thought best, acting as though he had the monopoly on morals in this situation. Don sympathized for what Charlie was trying to accomplish, he really did, but Charlie had no grasp on the potential consequences of his actions and was seemingly unwilling to accept the fact that there may be people out there that know better than him on threats to the homeland, including his own brother.

And that was just the beginning of his week.

His crack team of FBI agents had been working around the clock after two rock climbers had been found murdered over some shiny rocks, which ended with Don being chased through the mountains by three perps with guns. To top it all off, his "brain box" as Agent Edgerton had so artfully put it, had almost been blown off. If it hadn't been for Charlie … his brainiac brother whom he loved but wanted to throttle lately… the FBI would have still been picking up brain matter.

Don propped an extra pillow under his head and closed his eyes, trying to fend off the headache he knew that was coming. Edgerton had flown to CalSci and hauled Charlie out of there and put him on the case when Don had gone missing on the mountain, overlooking the minor detail that Charlie was sans security clearance. Don sighed; Edgerton had always been one to skirt the rules when it suited him. And this was one time Don was very glad he did. Even though he was aggravated with his brother, Don knew somewhere really REALLY deep down that they needed Charlie, though he wouldn't be admitting that out loud anytime soon.

Drifting to thoughts of Charlie's hearing, Don felt a little bad about the fact that there had been a brief moment where he had hoped the Judge would throw the book at his brother. Charlie had stepped way out of line this time, and part of Don wanted Charlie to have to own up to it.

"Professor Eppes," the Judge had railed. "If it were up to me you would be sitting in a jail cell right now with a long time to think about what you did, but you have made a few friends along the way that have asked me to take into consideration the work you have done." The Judge then read off the names of those that had submitted affidavits on Charlie's behalf. The list was long, including one Agent Ian Edgerton. Both Charlie and Don's heads had snapped up at the mention of the sniper's name. Don wasn't even aware that Ian had known about the hearing, but then again he wasn't really surprised, it was Edgerton after all. Ian had developed a soft spot for the curly haired professor. Don thought it was a mixture of amusement and appreciation. Charlie had grown to think of Ian as a friend, a title not many would bestow upon the feared sniper, and Ian seemed to have accepted Charlie's "voodoo" and a useful tool, along with his eccentricities. An odd pairing indeed thought Don.

Many of the affidavits the Judge ran through cited the fact that though Charlie had a somewhat irrational idealistic view of things, Charlie had provided invaluable assistance in numerous cases involving homeland security, and contributed to the Country's safety. "Irrational view?" Charlie began to mutter. Don threw a poignant look in his brother's direction and appreciated that Charlie has enough sense to catch it and close his mouth. "So" the Judge continued slowly, as if daring Charlie to speak, "this Court has begrudgingly accepted the offer of probation, but if you so much as sneeze in the wrong direction Professor Eppes, you will never set foot in a post office without me knowing about it. You will kiss your clearance and any hope of working with the Government ever again goodbye, do I make myself clear?" Charlie shook his curls in the affirmative "yes your honor."

As Don drifted off, he knew that they had gotten lucky. What Charlie had done could have easily gone bad. His brother had always been sheltered from the world, and Don had tried to protect Charlie's innocence in many ways. But Don knew that Charlie's naivety could end up costing them one day, especially when Charlie was playing in Don's world.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A/N: See chapter 1 for disclaimers and summary. Sorry that this chapter is a little shorter. It is meant mostly to fill in some details and move everything forward a bit.

* * *

It had been two weeks since Charlie's clearance had been reinstated, and Don could admit that it was good to have his kid brother back prattling on about threat matrices or other some such math solutions in the FBI's bull pen. Don made his way toward his team who were huddled around David's desk, and couldn't help but smile as he saw Colby role his eyes at something Charlie was saying. Yes. Things were finally starting to get back to normal. Well as normal as working for the FBI can be.

"Oh hey Don, I was just coming to find you" Charlie said catching sight of his older brother. "I was wondering how you felt about D.C."

"D.C." Don raised his eyebrows, wondering where this was going. "Yes" continued Charlie excitedly, "I've been, well, we've been invited to an interagency threat assessment meeting in D.C."

"Oh I don't know Chuck, there is a lot going on right now." Don sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't really like the idea of jetting off to watch Charlie wow a crowd of suits in DC. "Plus have you ever been to DC in August, it's hot Charlie, it's literally a swamp."

"Come on Don, and don't call me Chuck" said Charlie, doing his best to look intimidating. "The Director thinks it would be a great way to showcase what we have been doing here, utilizing math to catch the bad guys. It could convince other agencies that some of my models and methods could be of use." Great, thought Don, just what Charlie needs, more validation.

"It's a good opportunity to make some contacts at least" piped David. "And I think the Director already signed off."

"You just want to be agent in charge while I'm gone" snapped Don. He really wasn't happy about being backed into a corner on this.

"What, and miss an opportunity to boss Granger around?" smirked David while punching Colby in the arm.

"Yeah well I'd be careful if I were you, Granger can still take you" said Don.

Colby's eyes lit up with the complement and Don sighed inwardly. Even after all the time that had passed from the China fiasco, Colby was still in need of some encouragement. While Colby looked like he could withstand anything, Don knew the Janus list debacle did more damage to Colby than the team would ever realize, and Don did his best to support his youngest team member where he could. Colby had sacrificed a million times over for his country, and the FBI was lucky to have him.

Don wanted to slap himself for being a mother hen- but couldn't help but be concerned about something coming up while he was away and unable to get back to the team easily. While David and Colby had managed to patch things up for the most part, things occasionally rose to the surface, forcing Don to play referee. And with Megan gone at a friend's wedding, Don couldn't rely on her to step in if things got rough between David and Colby.

"Earth to Don" Colby called, effectively snapping Don out of his head.

"Well it seems like I don't have much of a choice now do I?" Don mumbled.

"Nope" smirked Charlie, turning on his heels and heading for the elevator. "I already called Dad and let him know" he said getting on the elevator and pushing the close button before Don could catch up with him out of self preservation, knowing his brother wasn't pleased.

"Well I guess I better go pack" Don said while picking up his jacket. "What the hell do you pack for D.C. anyway?"

"a fan" quipped David and Colby at the same time, watching their boss retreat toward to stairs, determined to catch up with Charlie. They almost felt bad for the youngest Epps. Neither of them would want to be stuck on a 6-hour flight with an irritated Don.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hi everyone- any reviews/comments/ideas etc. would be much appreciated as this is my first fic.

The heat hit Don like a brick when he and Charlie stepped out of the airport in DC. Don's button down dress shirt immediately clung to him in all the right places, causing multiple women, and even a few guys to do a double take. Charlie just stood beside him mindlessly thumbing through the pages of notes he had brought with him for the presentation, just as he had done for the entire plane ride. Don initially had thought Charlie was just trying to give him his space, but realized he was giving his brother too much credit. _He's actually nervous_ thought Don.

Don had always been Charlie's go between at the FBI, advocating on his brother's behalf. Even though Charlie could hold his own when explaining a math and its application, he could rub people the wrong way. In Don's experience, the higher ups didn't like being made to realize they weren't the smartest person in the room. His brother wasn't shy about the fact that he was a "genius" either. Charlie's biggest problem in Don's mind was knowing when to close his mouth. When he got excited about something he could prattle on for hours, which wouldn't sit well with the crowd they would be before tomorrow.

The cab ride to the hotel was made in relative silence. Don kept checking his phone. He had reached out to Ian a few times to let him know that the two were on his side of the country for once to see if he wanted to meet up but so far had heard nothing. Ian could just as easily be out tracking someone thought Don. It wasn't unusual to go months without hearing from the man. But he had been hoping for a bit of a buffer between himself and Charlie

After checking into the hotel Charlie and Don made their way upstairs. Charlie's quiet voice broke the silence causing Don to momentarily pause as he opened the door. "Are you mad at me?"

Don didn't want to have this conversation with Charlie but knew he was going to have to some time or later and made his way through the open door. "I wouldn't say 'mad' buddy, but I wish you had talked to me first before I got shanghaied into this trip."

"But it was the director" started Charlie

"But it was your idea" snapped Don, shutting Charlie down. "Look, you know I am proud of you, and your work has done a lot of good for the bureau but do you really think I want to sit around listening to my kid brother impress a bunch of suits while my team works cases back in LA?"

"I thought I was part of your team" mumbled Charlie looking crestfallen.

That comment made Don want to bang his head against a wall. This felt like conversations they would have back in high-school. "Listen" started Don, trying to keep his anger in check, "let's just make the most out of our time here okay." Turning away from his brother, Don threw his suitcase onto the bed.

Charlie went towards the door, determined not to let his brother see how hurt he was. Don could really cut him to the quick sometimes. All Charlie wanted on some days was to be in the same room as Don, to feel like he was part of his life. Charlie and Don had a huge wedge between them ever since their mother died. Consulting for the FBI had been a godsend. But ever since the Pakistan incident Don had seemed to be distancing himself from Charlie. Charlie knew Don had thought what he had done was reckless. Don had drawn a clear line on where he stood on what Charlie's colleague had done from the get go, which Charlie just couldn't wrap his head around. Hadn't Don and the team skirted the rules before? Why was this incident the one incident that was so black and white for Don?

Charlie decided he would go wander around a bit, see some of the sights. Before getting to the door, he thought he heard his brother say "of course you're part of the team," but it was said so quietly Charlie couldn't be sure he hadn't imagined it.

As soon as Charlie had left the room Don through a pillow against the wall. He hadn't meant to snap at Charlie. Hell, he had promised Dad that he would make the most out of this trip with his kid brother. "Well we're off to a great start" thought Don. Only his brother could frustrate the seasoned agent this much.

Things had gradually been getting better since Charlie's hearing had concluded. But the fact that he had been let off with what amounted to a warning was still bothering Don. That thought alone was enough to bother Don. He should be happy Charlie wasn't sitting in jail somewhere. But how the hell would Charlie ever learn that being in Don's world could have serious repercussions. Sure, they had some close scrapes in the past. Incidents that should have scarred Charlie straight and make him think before acting. But somehow, these situations kept popping up. And what really got to Don was that Charlie had clearly thought through sending what he knew to be prohibited information to Pakistan. This wasn't an example of Charlie speaking before thinking. This was an example of Charlie knowing he was right and the rest of the world be damned. And by getting off with a warning, Charlie's actions had in a way been validated.

Had Don pulled the stunt Charlie did, he had no question in his mind that he would be sitting out a lengthy sentence in a federal penitentiary. But Charlie being who he was, he was treated different. Don halfheartedly laughed at himself, knowing his shrink would be having a field day with this whole wretched debate that was raging in him. The shrink would no doubt find a way to link it to "unresolved" childhood issues. But Don knew what it was. He was terrified that one of these days Charlie's actions would blow up into something Charlie couldn't recover from. The world wasn't the nicest of places for someone like Charlie, who was at least sheltered in the walls of CalSci. Maybe Charlie's collaboration with the FBI and their dependence on him had gone too far.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you to those that took the time to send me a review. I appreciate it.

This chapter took me a bit as it was being difficult. But I am pretty happy with how it turned out. Warning: A bit of language in this one. Having Billy Cooper show up was a last minute idea. He is such a great character that it was a shame he didn't show up more in the show. I needed a way for Don to start to piece together that something is going on. As always, see the disclaimer in the first paragraph. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Charlie had come back to the hotel room later that evening and proceeded to take a shower and climb into his bed without so much as a glance in Don's direction. In the morning, Don was struggling to come up with the right words to smooth over what had transpired yesterday. "Knock 'em dead today Chuck."

Don cringed as the words came out, knowing how lame they sounded, and he didn't miss the fact that Charlie hadn't even bristled at being called "Chuck." The brothers headed out of their hotel room and to the main lobby. They then funneled through the lobby to the back of the hotel towards the freight elevator. Since none of the agencies were willing to meet on another agency's home turf, the one-day conference was being held in the hotel, for which Don was eternally grateful as he didn't want to step outside. The weather was supposed to be worse than yesterday. Don wasn't quite sure how he had survived the mugginess while he was in Quantico, or maybe it was just his age finally catching up with him.

Charlie and Don slowed down as they approached the beefy man standing in front of the elevator and dug out their ID's. The man let them on and hit the floor button. "Now, just try and listen a bit buddy, you may actually learn something. And maybe when it's your turn just get to the point quickly okay, these guys don't like being kept …"

"I think I know what I'm doing Don," snapped Charlie casting a sidelong glance at his brother. It was at that moment Don realized he had really fucked things up with Charlie. His brother was really sensitive and seemed to have internalized the comments that had been said yesterday. Before Don could say anything, the elevator doors opened and Charlie stepped purposefully off of the elevator and into the conference room leaving Don to trail behind.

Stepping into the room Don didn't miss the fact that it seemed to fall silent and all but a few heads had turned their way. ' _Well that's odd'_ thought Don. It was just as likely that the alpha males in the room were sizing the newcomers up, but given Don's years of experience, something felt off. Being off of his home turf didn't help either. He was meant to be out chasing down perps, not sequestered in a hotel with looks like the next advertisement for men's wearhouse. The FBI and NSA were well represented, and it was likely that there were a few CIA guys in the mix as well. From the look of the boys in the corner, a few military contractors may be rounding out the group along with officers from the military intelligence divisions. "Should have brought Colby along" mused Don.

A roguish face suddenly caught Don's vision. "Billy" exclaimed Don as his old partner stood up to embrace him. "Last place I expected to find you."

"Yeah, well when I heard the Eppes brothers were in town how could I refuse?" quipped Billy with sly grin.

Both agents settled into chairs at the far end of the room, preferring to be at an angle where they could see everyone. "Director thought it wouldn't hurt to have a friendly face tag along, and I've been teaching a class at Quantico, didn't need to be told twice I could escape the students for a bit. Were we ever that dumb?"

"Yeah, I think we were." Suddenly shifting in his chair, Don turned toward the other agent and spoke in a lowered tone after picking up on something Billy had said. "Not that I'm complaining or anything, but why would we need another 'friendly' face.'"

"Oh come on Don, everyone had heard about Charlie's recent 'incident' shall we say. He hasn't made a lot of friends out here, burned a couple bridges too. A lot of people vouched for the boy wonder and they're a little pissed."

"Oh damn, I thought the Bureau was going to keep a tighter lid than this." Don ran his fingers through his hair. He suddenly wanted to sweep Charlie out of here. His concerns about Charlie's actions were starting to work their way into reality, and the people in here could eat Charlie alive.

"Really Don, you know better than that, it's worse that a sorority house around here. You really think people weren't going to find out?"

"Fuck" was all Don could manage. "Why would the director send us out here then huh?"

"He probably thought it was best to just get Charlie back out there, keep his credibility up, show the FBI is moving past it." Billy was trying to be helpful but could tell he was starting to loose Don. He could practically see the wheels turning in his former partners head.

"Listen man, if it helps, no one is saying anything about you that I've heard. But then again, I'd probably deck 'em and they know it. So not sure how reliable I can be. You need to be careful. You could always come back to Fugitive Recovery, get away from the younger brother a bit; nobody really gives a damn so long as you round up who you're sent after." Billy had a sly look on his face. It was no secret Billy would welcome Don back to Fugitive Recovery. They had made one hell of a team.

"I'm staying right put thank you very much. I couldn't do that to my family again."

"Hey, it's better than pulling an Edgerton and disappearing for months on end with no one having your back" Billy shot back.

"Yeah speaking of Edgerton, you heard anything from him? I've been trying to reach him. He stepped in a bit for Charlie and I probably owe him a beer for it. Nothing but static from the man."

It was Billy's turn to shift in his chair. "Not sure. I don't think he was sent off after anyone though."

"Why not?"

"There are rumors around campus. Apparently someone heard him tell the higher ups he needed time off for family reasons. Someone else said they caught sight of him at Walter Reed."

Don's jaw hit the floor. "Family, the man has family? Hell I'd always thought he just magically appeared out of nowhere one day. Colby will be so disappointed."

"Seriously though Don, something's not right. Everyone's a bit tense, just look around the room. I hate DC, can't wait to get out of here and just do my damn job."

Everyone started taking their seats. Charlie had found a spot on the other side of the room and Don could tell from his face that he hadn't missed out on the tension either. _'Shit this was going to be a long day'_ thought Don. But one final thought did put a smile to his face and he leaned into Billy before the conference started. "When the hell did you become such a gossip queen?"

Billy turned beet red. "Fuck off Don."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thanks Lady Asphodelic for your kind review, made my night! I anticipate maybe three more chapters in this story.

In this chapter: What trouble has Charlie caused that would leave government agencies acting like children on a school yard? And our favorite sniper finally makes an appearance- however brief.

* * *

The conference was worse than Don had anticipated. It was an unmitigated disaster as far as he was concerned. Charlie had been frozen out at every opportunity. Every time he had tried to raise a point he was either blatantly ignored or patronized for his lack of field experience.

Charlie, who was at his wits end stood up at that point to confront the last man who had made a crack about his experience. When his reputation was on the line, Charlie wasn't one to back down. But the man was easily a foot taller than Charlie, with arms as thick as Charlie's thighs. Don was about to step in at that point to keep his brother from being pummeled but the deputy director of the bureau choose that moment to speak up, reminding the audience that Charlie had in fact consulted successfully on numerous cases for the FBI and NSA. The representatives from the NSA looked slightly uncomfortable at their names being brought into it.

The icing on the cake was when it was Charlie's turn to present on the use of math to pinpoint suspects in densely populated areas. As his brother headed to the front of the room, at least eight individuals stood up and made excuses for their departure. A more "pressing" matter had come up.

"CIA boys" whispered Billy.

Don was thoroughly confused at this point. How the hell Charlie had managed to piss off the CIA? Everything seemed to be centering around the Pakistan debacle but as far as Don knew the CIA had no involvement in the matter. But the differing agencies were clearly in some sort of pissing match with each other, and his little brother was in the middle of it.

Charlie was clearly thrown off by the sudden departure, but to his credit, he held it together and finished his presentation with the same style Don's team back home was fond of. The agencies that had stuck around seemed reluctantly impressed with Charlie, who most had never met before today. It did little to improve Charlie's mood though and Don could see he was clearly distressed.

Walking out of the conference and heading back down the elevator, Charlie was staring straight ahead not saying a word. When they reached the lobby Don paused when he felt Charlie's hand on his arm. "What was that Don?"

"I'm not sure buddy, but why don't you head to the room and order some room service huh. I need to talk to the deputy director okay." Don's eyes had been fixated on the deputy director who was standing near the bar in the lobby, more specifically, on who the deputy director was talking to. Don turned his head briefly when he spoke to Charlie, and as Charlie made his way back to the room, Don turned his attention back to the bar, noticing that the man was already gone. Though it had only been a fleeting glance, Don knew those sunglasses anywhere…Edgerton.

"Sir" said Don by way of greeting as he approached the bar.

"Agent Eppes." The deputy director was a tall man in his late 50s with grey hair along his temples. It was rumored that he had seen quite a bit of action in his hay day, but now he just looked like another tired agent in a suit. "What a cluster" mumbled the deputy director as he took a swig from his glass.

"Sir, with all due respect, what was that back there? And was that Agent Edgerton I just saw?"

"That, Agent Eppes, was a royal pissing match. I told the Director it was too soon to have your brother out here. Not until we cleaned up the mess a bit more. And what do you want with Edgerton?"

"Sir, what mess? Is this still about Pakistan? I thought the whole matter was resolved. The stuff Char… Professor Eppes sent was about crop production, it was determined that it didn't have the potential to be turned into a weapon."

"We shouldn't be having this conversation here," quickly snapped the deputy director who was looking more uncomfortable by the minute. "The point is the material was still prohibited. Your brother knew it and sent it anyway. Let's just say the agencies are still in disagreement over what 'potential' that research information had. And a certain agency is not too happy at the moment with your brother."

"Sir…"

"Not here Eppes! My advice to you is to get back on the plane with your brother and go back to doing what you do. Your brother is just going to have to be satisfied with just working with you until this whole mess cools off alright? Let us take care of it. Be happy with the fact he can still work with you and isn't in a cell for Christ's sake."

Don's eyes were wide as he stared at the deputy director who took another drink from his glass. Part of Don knew the smart thing to do was to heed the warning, the other part of him, the Agent part of him, wanted to know what the hell was going on. He needed to have all the information if he was going to protect Charlie.

"What were you asking about Edgerton for Eppes?"

"I saw him talking to you; I'd been trying to reach him. I thought he might be out on a case or something."

"Is this related to a case?"

"Sort of" Don said slowly. Technically it was if you squinted really hard. He was starting to feel like Edgerton was somehow wrapped up in all of this. Something about what Coop had said, and now with Ian pulling a disappearing act likely knowing full well Don was in the hotel and trying to reach him, was making Don uneasy. Don was sure that the "certain agency" the deputy director mentioned was none other than the one a stone's throw from the hotel in Langley, VA. So he would do what he did best, treat this as a case and figure out what Charlie had gotten himself into that had the CIA and FBI at each other's throat.

"Well unless it's vital to a case I'd leave him be if I were you."

Don decided to play the one chip he had. "I heard he may be visiting family in Walter Reed Sir. Edgerton's been an asset to my team in the past and I just want to make sure he's okay."

The deputy director visibly stilled at the mention of Walter Reed. His next words were as blunt as could be. "I'll say again Eppes. Get on that plane with your brother. Go home." With that the deputy director got up and headed out of the hotel with his security team, leaving a shocked Don in his wake.

Well now his mind was made up. He was definitely going to find Edgerton. No matter how much Charlie could annoy him and press his buttons, he was Don's little brother. Don had always looked out for Charlie and he certainly wasn't going to stop now. Family comes first.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: My longest chapter yet! We finally get a bit of action with Ian in the picture, and in the next chapter we will find out what's got everyone so riled up. Thank you for hanging in. I know the first couple of chapters were a bit drawn out. As always, reviews are appreciated!

* * *

Don returned to the hotel room to find Charlie pacing back and forth, twirling a pencil in his hand, lost in his own mind. Charlie didn't seem to acknowledge the fact that Don had even entered the room. "Hey buddy," said Don quietly, not wanting to startle him.

Charlie's head snapped up at the sound of his brother's voice. "Well, did you find out anything?"

"The deputy director didn't say much Charlie. I don't think he could. Or he didn't want to. This seems to have something to do with Pakistan."

At the mention of Pakistan, Charlie became unglued. "Pakistan, PAKISTAN? Why the hell would Pakistan still be an issue? I sent information on crop production, I didn't send the nuclear launch codes!" Charlie's pacing increased and he was running his fingers through his hair, much like Don would do when he was stressed.

"I checked that information myself. It has no application to a weapon. I swear they would find a way to label the Pope a terrorist if it suited them."

Don put his hands up in front of his chest, trying to get his brother to calm down. "Charlie I know, buddy, the FBI cleared this, but I guess the CIA…"

"What does the CIA have to do with anything?"

"The CIA thinks that the information poses some sort of risk. That it could be used for a weapon."

"Don, you know me, do you really think I would risk sending information that was dangerous to Pakistan? I sent much needed research to Professors at a university. They are trying to keep their people from starving for crying out loud. What right did I have to hold onto that information? How is progress ever going to be made if we hold onto to knowledge we have? The CIA, and everyone else for that matter, is seeing only what they want to see in that research. They would jump at their own shadow because it was following them."

Charlie's face said it all. He desperately wanted Don to validate his actions. Even though Don had said he understood why Charlie sent the info, Don never expressed any approval of it. Don sat on the edge of the bed determined to choose his next words carefully.

"Yeah but Charlie, you're not a chemist or a biologist now are you? How can you be sure there wasn't a risk? Did you run the research by anyone else? Someone at CalSci that could confirm the information was useless to a weapon?"

"I didn't need to Don. Chemistry is basically math. I could see it for myself."

"Charlie" said Don shaking his head. "Come on now, by your own statement, couldn't you have just been seeing what you wanted to in that information? I mean, you wanted your colleague to be innocent. You wanted that information to help people. You didn't run the information by anyone else that specializes in bioweapons, or even biology or chemistry. So isn't it possible you made the research fit with what you wanted?"

Charlie was near tears at this point and hadn't stopped pacing. "I checked it Don, I checked it. I did what I thought was right okay?"

"Come here, come on." Don tried to get Charlie to stop wearing a hole in the carpet, he could see Charlie's breathing was labored and he was working himself into a state. When Charlie wouldn't stop Don stood up and grabbed his hand, forcing him to sit down on the bed. Don knelt down in front of him, holding onto both his hands. When Charlie wouldn't look at him he grasped his younger brother's face and turned it so Charlie was looking right at him. "Hey, it's going to be fine."

"What if I screwed up Don? They're clearly pissed about something."

"They are always pissed about something alright? We'll figure it out, and I think I know where to start."

"Really?" Charlie's breathing had started to calm and he grabbed onto his brothers wrists. "I need to know what's going on Don."

"I know Buddy, that's why I think we need to find Ian."

"Ian?"

"Something tells me he knows what's going on. Don't ask me how. I just have a gut feeling on this."

"But how are you going to find him? He's not the kind of man that can just be found if he doesn't want to be," said Charlie.

"I've got an idea on where to look but Charlie, but I want you to head home. Go back to Calsci for a bit okay? Let me handle this."

Charlie stood straight up looking panicked. "No way Don. Please."

Despite his urge to send Charlie back to Dad's immediately, Don nodded. "Okay, but you follow my lead. I mean it Charlie.

xxxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxxxxx

In the morning Don and Charlie grabbed their bags and checked out of the hotel. Don had called for a rental the night before, right after calling David to let him know he was going to be delayed a day or two. Getting into the rental car, Don set his sights on Walter Reed, it was his only lead in tracking down Ian.

Don was regretting allowing Charlie to tag along. He had no idea what would happen when … if…he managed to track down the sniper. Ian clearly wasn't in the mood for small talk, and though Don wanted to think Ian would never deliberately pose a risk to either him of Charlie, he had no idea what they were walking into. And Don didn't care who you were, it was never a good idea to go pissing off one of the world's best snipers.

Pulling up to Walter Reed, Don took a minute to pull himself together. "I want you to stay in the car Charlie."

"But..."

"No buts, you said yesterday you would follow my lead and I need you to do that now okay. We don't even know if he's here."

"Fine."

Don stared at Charlie a bit longer, just to make his point before opening the car door and heading toward the hospital entrance. Walking in, Don made his way to the woman behind the visitor's desk.

"Can I help you hun?"

"Yes ma'am I'm looking for Ian Edgerton. He would be visiting a patient here."

"Are you family?"

"No" said Don pulling out his FBI badge. "I work with him though and it's very important that I speak with him."

Eyeing his badge, the woman set her sights on the visitor's log scrolling her finger along the list. "Looks like he should be in room 19. Third floor."

Don let out a breath he had been holding. He was here. "Thank you."

Passing several rooms filled with visitors and army personnel, Don took a minute to think about where he was. He never served, but he knew plenty that had. Including Colby and Ian. Seeing these men and women injured and recovering at Walter Reid felt like a punch in the gut. He knew how lucky it was that both men had survived the war relatively unscathed, but he knew there were wounds he likely couldn't see. He hadn't thought about it before, but Don had no idea who Ian was here to see or who that person could be to Ian.

Coming up to room 19, Don saw the door was open. Peering inside he caught no sight of Agent Edgerton. Instead, a single person lay in the bed, the beeping and humming of medical machines filled the room. Even though he hadn't given it much thought, Don was surprised by what he saw. A young woman, who looked to be barely in her 30's lay still in the bed, the ventilator was breathing for her. Multiple tubes were coming out of the slim body, hooked up to various drips and machines. Angry red lines blotted the woman's skin, and bandages crisscrossed her body. Don stepped further into the room, transfixed by what he saw. If he had given it any thought, he would have likely imagined Ian was visiting his doppelganger. Someone whose presence filled up a room and tall frame covered most of the bed. Not this, not this young woman who had clearly seen too much for someone so young.

"Eppes"

Don nearly jumped out of his skin. Turning toward the sound of the voice Don saw Ian leaning against the doorframe, cup of coffee in one hand.

"Dammit Edgerton, you have a way of sneaking up on a person."

"What are you doing here Eppes?" The normally impeccably groomed Agent looked more haggard that Don had ever seen him. Ian wasn't even looking at Don, his eyes never left the woman in the bed. Don knew Ian barely slept as is; a hazard of his position, but the man looked tired. However, even in this condition, Don knew he was as lethal as ever.

"I'd been trying to get ahold of you; Charlie and I were here for a conference. I thought we could hang out a bit but then I heard you may be here. Just wanted to make sure everything was okay."

"That's nice" said Ian, his voice razor thin. "You sure it's not because the professor out there in the parking lot got himself in a bit of a mess?"

Don knew better than to play coy with Ian, and it didn't surprise him that he knew Charlie was here. Ian had a knack of knowing such things. But Ian's words confirmed to Don that he had the right idea coming here. Ian knew something. "A bit of both maybe."

Ian moved away from the doorframe and took a seat next to the bedside of the mystery woman. "Who is she Ian," asked Don softly. He stayed silent, waiting for Ian to say something.

Hunching forward in the chair, Ian placed his free hand over one of the woman's, his face filed with a pain that Don never expected to see cross this agent's face. "She's my niece."

Don couldn't breathe for a moment. "I…I had no idea Ian."

"Well, I'm not exactly the sharing type now am I Eppes?" Don leaned against the door frame, completely unsure of how to proceed.

"Head back to LA Eppes, take the professor and consider keeping a tighter leash on him will you" said Ian as though he were having a run of the mill conversation. Don would have preferred anger, malice, something to indicate to him what was going on, so Don bristled.

"I'm getting real tired of people telling me to go home Ian, you need to fill me in here."

Ian was on his feet before Don could even blink and was in his face. "What was that Don? What do I need to do?"

"Fill me in here Ian, come on man, maybe I could help."

A calm Ian was enough to scare the most hardened of suspects, and Don was now face to face with a seriously pissed off Agent Edgerton. Edgerton's next words came flying out of his mouth like one of his bullets. "That brother of yours has done enough. Honestly Eppes, did you really think the professor could just keep trailing along and nobody was going to get hurt. He almost got shot himself a few times, you should have ended it then. Put him back in that ivory tower and left him there. He's fucking brilliant but for all that genius rattling around in his brain, he hasn't got a lick of common sense. I don't have the time or the energy to waste on educating you on how your brother fucked up." Ian's open hand came up and hit the wall behind Don's head.

This sent a nurse running into the room. "That is enough! I will not have this here on my floor. Do you hear me?" Turning to Don the nurse put a hand on his chest pushing him toward the door. "You need to go."

Don backed out of the room and watched as Ian turned back toward his niece and fell into the chair beside her. Turning toward the hallway Don ran smack dab into Charlie. Don grabbed onto Charlie's arm and tried to steer him out of Edgerton's line of sight. "What the hell Charlie I told you to wait in the car" hissed Don.

"You were taking forever, you found him though. What did he say? Who was he with?"

Don stopped and placed Charlie along the far wall, away from the door to where Ian was. "It's his niece and we made a mistake coming here buddy, Come on, we'll figure this out another way but this is not the time or place."

"His niece" whispered Charlie. "Don, why is she here, what does she have to do with this?"

"I don't know Charlie," whispered Don, "but it's bad. She's a mess. And Ian wasn't happy to see me so let's go."

Charlie realized how serious Don was about getting out of the building and stopped with the questioning. He turned to follow his brother out of the hospital only to find himself grabbed from behind and pulled into a side room. Charlie was whirled around, his back pushed up against a locker, one hand on his chest, and he suddenly found himself face to face with the FBI's favorite sniper.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Thank you to my new reviewers! I am glad people are liking the story.

Something to note- midway through I switch to a more reflective style and I am writing in the past tense. It was easier to write this section in the narrative form instead of making the entire thing a dialogue.

This is the pinnacle chapter. I hope that it is clear and makes sense to everyone as much as it did in my head! I am only planning on one more chapter.

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Don flew into the room, hot on Edgerton's heels. He grabbed onto Ian's shoulder. "Let him go Ian." Ian shrugged Don off of him, never letting go of Charlie, and used his free hand to push Don back. Looking Don square in the eye, Ian dared Don to try it again.

"You know Eppes, I changed my mind. I do have a minute to educate the professor here on why everyone is SO…PISSED…OFF" spat Ian, pushing Charlie harder into the locker with each word.

"Okay, okay let's just take it easy now Ian, let's talk about this huh." Charlie knew that tone, it's the one Don reserved for talking suspects of the ledge or before they did something completely stupid. Ian knew it to.

"How to talk suspects down 101, real cute," came Ian's scathing reply.

"...Please Ian, you're hurting me" choked out Charlie.

Ian raised an eyebrow but backed off Charlie a little, he wasn't being pushed into the locker anymore but Ian hadn't released his hold either. Ian leaned forward and whispered in Charlie's ear. "You have no idea what the meaning of hurt is Professor. My niece does though."

Don took in some air, relieved that Ian had backed off just a little. He took a step forward, only to be deterred by the poignant glare Edgerton threw his way. And just as fast as it had happened, Ian released his grasp on Charlie, who remained rooted to the spot. As Ian stepped back Don immediately moved to put himself between Ian and his brother.

"You okay buddy?"

"Yeah" mumbled Charlie, still in shock.

Silence descended on the three as Ian paced in front of the door with his hand rubbing his chin. It was Ian that spoke first. "Funny thing is I'm the one that vouched with you to that Judge. You helped your brother in the past, helped us solve cases. Told him you were just a well-meaning kid. And now, it's my niece in a hospital bed and you get to carry on like nothing happened."

"Ian…please, just tell me what happened. I'm completely lost…what did I do" mumbled Charlie.

"The genius is lost huh, I guess we're all in trouble then." Ian straddled the locker room bench, staring at Charlie. "Did you really think the CIA was just going to let Pakistan have that information?"

Charlie's heart began to race and started to take a step forward, only to have Don place his hand in front of him, keeping him back. Don hadn't taken his eyes off Ian, not knowing if the man would pounce on Charlie again. "Those professors were innocent. I sent them the information to help their people. Please tell me they're okay," trailed Charlie.

"That's what you're worried about?" Ian shook his head. "Sit down Professor, it's story time."

xxxxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxxxx

Fifteen minutes later, it was over. Ian was back sitting by his niece's bedside. Charlie was sobbing against Don inside the safety of the rental car. Ian had told them what had happened all right, every detail despite its likely classified nature. When Don had asked if Ian should even be telling them this, the agent snorted. "What does it really matter now?"

It turned out that when the CIA had learned that information that could potentially be used in creating a bioweapon had been sent to Pakistan, they flipped. Despite reassurances from the FBI that they had reevaluated what Charlie had sent, the CIA's people believed it still had the potential for application to a weapon and they weren't going to risk it. So they deployed teams in an effort to recover the data.

Charlie has sent that information to four professors. They had to act extremely fast given the fact this information could be retransmitted at a moment's notice. There was no time to properly prepare, no research at the ready to tell them who they would face when they arrived. Instead, the team was thrown together at a moment's notice. The CIA agents going in to recover the sensitive information were supported and protected by a small Navy Seal team.

Ian's niece was part of the three man CIA team. The other two on the team had contacts in the area and knew the lay of the land. They were seasoned agents, use to mixing it up when need be. She was the only one near the area that the Agency could get in fast enough that had the knowledge to be able to identify the material that the team was seeking, confirm that all the material had been recovered and be able to tell the likelihood of the material having been disseminated elsewhere before they arrived. Ian finally said her name. Isabel, 28 years old. She was all Ian had left. His sister's daughter. Isabel's parents had been killed when she was 17 by a drunk driver. She was already half way through with college, despite her age, when her parents died, and Ian did everything he could to be there for her when he wasn't out chasing down some dirtbag for the FBI.

"She's an analyst. Another overachiever," Ian had said with a small grin. "She was never meant to be out on a mission like that. But when they asked her, of course she said yes. I never liked the fact that she was working for the Company. But she was so proud of what she was doing. She didn't want to sit in an ivory tower somewhere, she wanted to work."

The words had stung Charlie but he took them. He had sat hanging onto every word Ian said. Neither Don nor Charlie had ever heard the man speak so much, and they didn't want to interrupt, afraid they wouldn't get the end of the story if they had cut him off.

The entire mission had been launched around the time Charlie was in his hearing. Apparently the recovery from the first three professors went smoothly. One had been on vacation, and when they had hacked into his email they found that the professor hadn't even read Charlie's email. The other two had opened the email, so they were visited in person. Neither had wanted any trouble with the Americans, and quickly turned over anything they had printed out, along with their computers, and didn't put up a fight as their homes and work areas were searched. Ian hadn't said what they had told the professors to keep them quiet, or to cooperate, he may not have known.

Don wasn't sure how Ian knew any of this. From what he could tell, his niece was incapacitated and unable to tell him anything. If he hazard to guess, it was very likely that Ian had been loaned out the Company on a few occasions from the FBI. Given that it was his niece that was injured, the CIA probably read him in. That or one of Ian's many contacts had.

It had been the fourth professor that proved the problem. When they were unable to find him in Islamabad, the team quickly traced him to an area of the tribal lands a few days later. Unbeknownst to the CIA, The professor was connected to a man known only as Haswari. Haswari was a known terrorist on every agency's most wanted list. He was wanted in connection with several bombings across the globe. He had appeared in propaganda videos urging followers to perpetrate attacks on Americans wherever they could be found. It was only later, after everything was over, that the CIA discovered the professor was likely a second cousin of Haswari through his mother's side, and had probably taken him the research information himself in a bid to win Haswari's good graces. However, when the team had arrived in the tribal lands, they knew nothing of this.

Both Don and Charlie were white as sheets when they heard this information. Charlie had begun to shake and Don had to put a hand on his shoulder, to steady him.

When the team had located the professor, they fell back to let the Seal Team breach the home they believed the professor to be in. The Seal Team, finding no one inside called the agents in. Over the sat-phone Isabel had confirmed they had found the remaining material. There was no further evidence of it having been sent on to anyone else. The CIA had moved in fast enough to contain the information, which was no small miracle.

What was frightening though was that they had also found the names of known engineers and biologists, along with a timeline and list of potential targets. They clearly hadn't gotten very far in whatever they were planning, but whatever it was it was obvious that they were going to try to make use of the research that had fallen into their hands. The writing was on the wall that they were in the beginning stages of planning a large scale terrorist attack.

The only concern the agents had now was finding the professor to make sure he didn't have any information on him. Just as they were making their way out of the house with the information tucked safely into their packs, the house exploded. Bullets began flying everywhere.

Haswari had likely been surprised by the presence of the Americans, as he had clearly not prepared for their arrival. Only a small force of men had been with him. Given how quickly the team had moved in, there wasn't much time for Haswari to have been tipped off even if their presence had been detected in Islamabad. The flip side, however, was that the team hadn't been expecting to run into him either.

Mayhem ensued. Followers of Haswari opened fire as soon as they caught sight of foreigners coming from the house. One had climbed up on a roof and fired an RPG in the vicinity of the Americans, reducing the house they had just come out of to ruble. The Seal Team fought them back in a way only they could manage, and the two CIA agents tried to shelter Isabel from the onslaught. By the time the smoke had cleared, the Seal Team had managed to get the entire team onto a waiting chopper that had been sent in for an exfil, but they didn't make it out unscathed.

The mission to recover the research Charlie had sent cost the life of one CIA agent who had stepped in front of the enemy, taking the bullet meant for Isabel. It also cost a Navy Seal his leg from the RPG that had ripped through the house. Isabel had taken shrapnel wounds when the house exploded, and had been thrown into a brick wall by the force of it, hitting her head hard. She hadn't woken up since.

Through the various networks and accounts from the surviving members of the team, the CIA learned that the professor died in the mayhem, along with Haswari and the small band of men that had been with him at the time, another scourge gone from the earth. Despite their injuries, and having to protect the CIA agents, the Seal Team had cleaned things up nicely. Pakistan agreed to the CIA's cover story, tribal infighting. Pakistan didn't want to admit to its people that the Americans had managed to pull of another operation on their land.

Ian had stood up without a word and motioned for the brothers to follow him. They walked back into room 19 and stopped at the foot of Isabel's bed. Charlie's breath hitched in his throat as he looked at the young woman, who was even younger than him.

Ian placed a hand on Charlie's shoulder. "If you are going to continue working with us, you need to understand your actions have consequences. You aren't an agent, and you don't know everything. If you do decide to break the rules again professor, remember today, and think about whether you can live with the potential consequences. Ian spoke with no malice, no hatred in his voice. He didn't see the need; he knew his point had been made.

"And here endeth the lesson, professor. Go home." Ian had turned his back to the brothers and leaned over Isabel, moving a strand of hair off her face, and Charlie's heart broke then and there. Don had to help him to the car, and once inside, Charlie crumbled.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Final Chapter! And here endeth my first fanfiction. Thanks to all the authors out there keeping the numb3rs universe alive! It has been fun :)

* * *

Don was at a loss at how to help Charlie. He had tried everything from being a comforting presence to his younger brother to yelling at Charlie to pull himself together. Even though the brotherly side of Don was still mad at Ian for how things had transpired in DC, shortly after getting back to LA, Don had thought about calling Ian. He did honestly care about the sniper, and his gut was wrenched every time he thought about Ian's niece. Don ultimately decided against it. Ian had made it abundantly clear he wanted to be left alone.

Don knew Ian hadn't meant to be cruel to Charlie, but he had done a number on him. Though Don couldn't hold it against Ian no matter how much he wanted to place the blame for Charlie's pain on his shoulders. Ian had done exactly what they had asked him to do, fill them in. And Ian had come through with flying colors.

Charlie was forced to confront the consequence of his action. Isn't that what Don had wanted in the first place? To make Charlie understand that he didn't know everything and that if he continued to charge ahead as though he did it could end up costing someone?

It was, and Ian had seized the moment to do what Don couldn't have done, educate Charlie. But Don had never wanted it to come with the pain. And he surely hadn't wanted the price of such education to have come at Ian's expense. Don hoped that when he was ready, Ian would reach out, but Don knew there was a chance they would never hear from the famed sniper again.

His little brother's rose covered glasses had been shattered. A professor, someone who was supposed to help the world, was ready to sell it out to a terrorist. Charlie's grand gesture of helping starving people at his own risk had ended up being for nothing. In fact, lives had been shattered, and Charlie didn't know how to process it all.

The first week of their return had been the worst by far. Alan had known the second they entered the craftsman that something was wrong. Charlie had scrambled up the stairs past his father, slamming the door to his room.

Alan pestered Don for answers that Don couldn't give. Don didn't want to risk any more trouble for his family by telling his dad classified information. He settled on telling his father that the information Charlie had sent to Pakistan had caused more problems than they thought and Charlie was upset that the research hadn't been able to help anyone.

Alan knew Don wasn't giving him a straight answer and kept pushing. Much like his two boys, Alan was relentless in his pursuit of answers. "Dad, I can't tell you anymore than what I have okay?"

"Come on Donny, I know when your trying to pull the wool over my eyes, I may be old but I'm not stupid. Charlie's upset and I want to know why."

"Dammit dad you need to drop this one alright. Charlie's going to be fine, I just…I'll take care of it okay." The finality of Don's tone thankfully stopped his father. As much as Alan wanted to know what was causing his youngest so much pain, he could see Don was hurting as well.

Colby and David hadn't been much better. The look on Don's face told them that the trip to DC hadn't gone well, and Charlie had stopped showing up at the bureau. Don had given them pretty much the same response he had given his dad but for different reasons. It wasn't his story to tell. Ian deserved his privacy and Charlie needed time.

That didn't stop Colby or David from trying to reach the youngest Eppes. When their inquiries were met with silence, they had cornered Don in the conference room.

"Come on Don, aren't you always saying we're a team? Well how are we suppose to function as a team if you won't tell us what's going on? Colby was standing with his arms crossed staring down his boss. "Well?"

Don grew agitated at being put on the spot by Colby and headed toward the door. "Don't pull that interrogation crap with me Colby, I mean it."

David stepped in front of Don, blocking his escape. Don threw up his hands in annoyance. Don should have known better to think that they would just let it go. They had come to love Charlie like he was their own brother. "Really David?"

"He's right Don, call it an intervention if you want, I don't care, but when two of our team members are down, you better believe we are going to figure out what's going on and be there for them."

The two agents watched as their boss's agitation and irritability broke down into pure exhaustion. From the range of emotion on Don's face, they knew it was going to be bad, but when Don told them the whole story they still had a hard time taking it all in.

"aww man, Charlie's got to be really wiggin out right now" said Colby.

""He's barely talking to anyone" mumbled Don. "I'm at a complete loss guys, I don't know how to get through to him."

"You might not be able to Don. When shit went down in Afghanistan, I had to work through it on my own. But knowing I had my family to fall back on, that made the difference."

David nodded at that. "You'll be there for him Don, so will Alan, so will Amita. You know Colby and I aren't going anywhere. I have no doubt the Eppes brothers are going to get through this."

It all came to a head the Friday after their return from DC. Don was sitting in the bullpen when his phone went off. "Yeah Dad, what's up?"

"Don you need to come home. Charlie hasn't come out of his room and the door is locked, he's not answering me and I'm worried."

Don made it to the house in record time and bounded up the stairs. He had found his dad outside of Charlie's room knocking softly, worry all over his face. "Come on now Charlie, open up, this isn't funny." Don moved his Dad out of the way and banged on the door. "Charlie open this door right now, I mean it."

Don panicked when they got no response from Charlie. He threw his entire body weight into the door, breaking it free from the lock. Don's eyes adjusted to the dark and quickly spotted Charlie sitting on the floor, sobbing quietly in the corner.

Looking up at the intrusion Charlie cried out "What have I done Don? How could I have been so stupid? 28 years old Don, 28! And another agent is gone, a Navy Seal's career is over. What did I do it for? I'm so sorry Don… I'm so sorry."

Don motioned for his father to stay back, not wanting to overwhelm Charlie more than he already was. There were papers strewn all over the room. Math problems that were half finished, as though Charlie had been trying to jump start his brain or distract himself but couldn't follow through.

"Oh buddy." Don stared at Charlie. He had seen behavior like this from Charlie only twice before. Once, when mom had died. The other, when Don had been stabbed.

Charlie's eyes were hollow and his face was gaunt. The food Charlie had been taking to his room each night since their return lay untouched on the table. Don sunk to the floor next to his brother. As soon as his hand had rested on Charlie's shoulder, the younger man had let out a strangled sob and turned into Don.

Don pulled Charlie tight, wishing to whatever God was listening to take away the pain. Seeing that Don had the situation in hand, Alan headed back down the stairs.

Charlie rested his head in Don's lap, tears continued to stream out. Don leaned against the wall, running his hands through Charlie's curls as Charlie's chest heaved and his hands dug into Don's arms as if holding on for dear life. No further words were spoken between the two that night. There wasn't a need. Don would sit there are long as Charlie needed, and Charlie knew it.

The next few days Don felt as though he were moving through sludge. Charlie had pulled himself together enough in the second week to attend to his lectures under the watchful eye of Amita and Larry. Don kept waiting for another phone call that never came.

Even though Charlie was back at school, Don didn't bring any FBI matter to his attention. He wasn't sure where Charlie stood with wanting to get back involved with Don's work. Charlie was back on his feet and moving in a good direction and Don wasn't going to mess with that.

Don told himself he would be okay with whatever Charlie decided to do. His team had managed before Charlie, and they could do so again. Despite all of the reservations about Charlie working with him that had been brought up as a result of this whole mess, Don knew he'd miss his kid brother if he didn't come back to consult for the bureau. And the bureau would be missing a valuable asset in its arsenal.

Colby and David inquired as to whether Charlie would be returning and all Don could do was shrug. The answer to the question had come in the third week when the agents were huddled around a map in the conference room. Colby was sticking pins in the map, marking off where several robberies had taken place.

"I don't know Don" said David. "I mean this looks like a completely random list of targets to me."

The agents' heads whipped around when they heard a voice behind them. "Have I really been gone so long that I have to remind you about randomness David?"

Charlie stood in the back of the conference room looking better than Don had seen him in weeks. Both Colby and David broke into huge grins at the sight of the professor.

"My bad Charlie" said David as he gave Charlie a big hug. Colby had hugged Charlie so tight that he had lifted him off the ground. "Good to see you too guys" Charlie said with a bemused look on his face.

"Hey buddy, long time no see." Don couldn't keep the grin off his face seeing his brother back in the FBI headquarters. "What brings you here."

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure thing kid." Don walked Charlie out of the conference room and to his desk. "What's up?"

Charlie reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He pulled up a text message explaining "I got this from Ian this morning." Don immediately took the phone. The message simply read: _She's gone. Make it count._

Don looked into his brother's face, searching for some sign as to how Charlie was handling the news. "I'm okay Don."

Charlie slipped the phone back into his pocket. He didn't look up at Don and seemed to struggle to get the right words out. "What I came here today was to say, I mean, what I want to say is this…Isabel wanted to make her work mean something, she wanted to help. She can't do than anymore Don. But I can."

Charlie stood up straighter and looked Don in the eye. "Can I come back?"

"Yeah Charlie" whopped David. Don turned to see both David and Colby's heads popping out from the conference room door.

Don broke into a huge grin as he grabbed his brother into a bear hug. "Of course you can buddy, you didn't even need to ask."

-End-


End file.
